I hope that all of my readers are healthy and safe, regardless of where you live.
Public schools in New York City started back last Monday. With the start of public schools again came the start of mass transit that in some places is as crowded, if not more so, as it was before the pandemic. Between schools starting back and the crew shortages on some bus and train lines in New York (I’m suspecting that it’s because a lot of mass transit workers are getting hit with COVID, though I could be wrong), I’ve experienced some very crowded buses in particular (and busy trains, albeit not quite as crowded as some buses I’ve been on). I’m hoping that this doesn’t result in our having another wave of this pandemic, but we will see. Over the past several weeks, I haven’t been particularly optimistic because all school kids under 12 cannot get vaccinated and therefore are potentially extremely vulnerable. In the next couple of weeks, we may see whether I was right to be pessimistic.
Even if my pessimism is correct, at least we continue to have a decent number of ICU beds available in the New York City area–over 4 in 10 of them.[1] Some other parts of the country are not so lucky, as Idaho is now rationing health care,[2] and so is Alaska’s largest hospital.[3] I say this because while we are not in an ideal situation in New York City, at least in my humble opinion, we are in a situation nowhere near as bad as some other parts of the country. Actually, I’m sensing that some other parts of the country may be experiencing now what people in New York City went through in March 2020.
There have been significant debates over vaccine mandates in my city, and nationwide. In fact, as some American readers know, the subject of vaccine mandates (along with COVID restrictions in general) was at the center of a recall election in California where Republicans were hoping to oust Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. As such, I will give my two cents on such mandates…
There are numerous vaccines that are mandated for the simplest things, such as attending school. Take Nebraska for example, a state where its own governor was grilled on by Chris Wallace on Fox News for not mandating COVID vaccines even while other vaccines are mandated. That state requires vaccinations for things like hepatitis B, chickenpox, and polio.[4] Such mandates have been constitutional before, and in fact there is Supreme Court precedence for said mandates,[5] so arguments that mandates are infringing upon the liberties of people just doesn’t hold constitutional muster from what I have read.
All that being said, if one believes that the COVID vaccines are effective, just as vaccines against those other aforementioned diseases are effective, I honestly then struggle to understand why some leaders are not doing everything they can to make sure that every single person who can get vaccinated does get vaccinated. Especially with lives at stake here, I am a believer that we should do everything in our power to save as many lives as possible. People’s lives depend on it. And frankly, with how the pandemic has affected the economy, both in the United States and globally, people’s livelihoods depend on it too.
Enough of my lecturing, though. I’m curious to hear how others are doing!
[1] https://covidactnow.org/us/metro/new-york-city-newark-jersey-city_ny-nj-pa/?s=22991219
Blind Injustice 
It’s really hard to fathom why vaccination mandates are not just a given. 😥
LikeLiked by 1 person
In some cases, they are a given, at least in the United States. Yet, it’s confounding to me why the COVID vaccines aren’t among those mandates for some.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Brandan. It’s still really tough. Its like that light at the end of the tunnel keeps getting pulled away. Here in BC we’re 80% full vaccinated but the next province over (Alberta) is less than 40% and fighting its all their might. It drive me crazy. The hospital ICUs are beginning to fill again and it will get worse as the weather cools and people go indoors.. I’m so frustrated but I know I’m not alone.
Be well.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You stay well too. I keep on holding on to hope that the light will be at the end of the tunnel. Most pandemics tend to last only a couple of years or so, anyway. But we need to get through these next few months, at least–something that would be easier with higher vaccination rates.
LikeLike
The U.S. should make it so, that those who don’t get vaccinated get fined, because vaccinations are the best methods, to prevent death from MERS-CoV, besides, the vaccinations are said to be effective that even if you contracted MERS, your conditions won’t worsen so quickly, and leading to eventual deaths. In my country, we’re, fighting for a limited resources of availability of vaccines, and in the U.S., where the vaccines are abundant, and there are still, those, anti-vaxxers, it’s really hard to imagine, how the resources can be split, so, unevenly in the world right now!
LikeLike
I’m guessing that wealth inequality plays at least somewhat of a role in terms of resources being split. But it is a real shame that while we’ve at times had a surplus of vaccines as well as anti-vaxxers, there are other parts of the world that have been lacking in them.
LikeLiked by 1 person